The rejuvenated New York Racing Association has big plans for its new 25-year franchise, but president and chief executive officer Charles Hayward said Dec. 9 the organization has to plan wisely should revenue sources dry up.

The New York Racing Association has been granted another temporary extension to continue operating during most of the Saratoga meet while it negotiates a final deal with the state for a 25-year franchise.

With the March 12 announcement of the resignation of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer effective March 17, officials at the New York Racing Association said they don't anticipate his resignation would affect recent legislation that grants NYRA a new franchise. It could, however, impact other aspects of the franchise moving forward.

Officials cautioned that a delay in the New York Racing Association emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is not a sign of a larger problem for the deal giving NYRA a new 25-year franchise extension.

Relief, tempered with caution about the future, was the word among some of New York's owners and breeders the day after it was announced that the New York Racing Association struck a deal with the state to operate racing at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga for the next 25 years.

While unveiling what he called the framework of a Thoroughbred franchise agreement, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno blasted the New York Racing Association Feb. 7 for attempting to scare its workers and horsemen by threatening a shutdown Feb. 14.

A tentative deal is within reach to give the New York Racing Association a 25-year franchise to run Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga, legislative sources said Feb. 6, the same day NYRA indicated live racing at Aqueduct could end Feb. 14.

Charles Wait, president of the Adirondack Trust Company in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has resigned from his position on the New York Racing Association's board of trustees, citing his dissatisfaction with the position of Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno as the main reason for his decision.

With another deadline looming that could shut down racing at Aqueduct Feb. 14, rumors are circulating among horsemen that the New York Racing Association might not be willing to accept another temporary extension to keep racing going.

Negotiators in New York have agreed to another temporary extension to keep racing operating while talks continue on a longer-term franchise deal to operate Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga, officials said Jan. 21.

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association released a statement Jan. 10 urging the state to address issues of importance to the 6,000 members of its group as negotiations continue on the long-term extension of the New York Racing Association franchise.

The temporary extension given to the New York Racing Association to operate Aqueduct has allowed government officials to boost the rhetorical wars against each other over the failure to devise a long-term franchise deal.

Though state racing regulators failed to approve a temporary license for the New York Racing Association to continue racing in January while talks about a permanent franchise deal continue, NYRA struck a deal with the state to continue operating Aqueduct through Jan. 23.

A state government panel in charge of overseeing the New York Racing Association's finances--and the racing franchise as of Jan. 1, 2008--has a new chairman at a critical moment in the franchise negotiations.

A state government panel Dec. 17 approved letting the New York Racing Association continue running racing on a temporary basis until officials can agree on a new franchise-holder for Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga.

The New York Racing Association can agree to new performance benchmarks for its operations as part of a franchise extension deal, but state officials must be more flexible to take into account future changes in the racing industry that could affect those new standards, according to the president of NYRA.

With closed-door talks failing to produce a deal on a new Thoroughbred franchise in New York, state officials have begun discussing getting the framework of a deal in place before a Dec. 31 deadline with passage of an agreement by the legislature in early January.

The New York Racing Association is proposing to keep 17.5 acres of land adjacent to Aqueduct after it gives up it land claims to the state of New York, according to amendments filed to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

The top Republican in the New York legislature, after months of pessimistic offerings, believes a deal on the state's Thoroughbred franchise could be struck before Thanksgiving if "productive" talks are successful.

The New York Racing Association has filed a Chapter 11 plan in which it plans to surrender a claim of ownership to Thoroughbred tracks in exchange for the right to run the facilities for the next 30 years.

A consortium of major horse industry companies vying for the Thoroughbred franchise in new York began falling apart Oct. 10, as Magna Entertainment and Churchill Downs announced their withdrawal from Empire Racing Associates.

A consortium of major horse industry companies vying for the Thoroughbred franchise in New York began falling apart Oct. 10, as Magna Entertainment Corp., Churchill Downs Inc., and Delaware North announced their withdrawal from Empire Racing Associates.

New York's top Republican lawmaker said a plan by Gov. Eliot Spitzer to give another exclusive racing franchise to the New York Racing Association will not be approved by the legislature in its current form.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has formally recommended the New York Racing Association continue to operate Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga racetracks while a separate operator for future casino developments at Aqueduct and possibly Belmont would be tapped down the road.

The New York Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering will hold a meeting Sept. 12 to review Gov. Eliot Spitzer's anticipated recommendation regarding the franchise to operate Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga.

In an Aug. 25 news conference at Saratoga Race Course, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said he may not meet the Sept. 4 deadline to make a recommendation as to which organization should receive the franchise to run racing at the Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.

In an Aug. 23 presentation at the Saratoga Hotel and Conference Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Capital Play CEO Karl O'Farrell called Saratoga Race Course the "crown jewel of New York racing" and pledged his company's commitment to maintaining the historical significance of the track should Capital Play gain the governor's recommendation for the 20-year franchise to operate Belmont, Aqueduct, and Saratoga race courses.